Local Filipino worries about parents, homeland

SALTILLO – Jovelyn Estolloso Pinson married the love of her life two years ago and emigrated to the U.S., but her heart is in the Philippines, her homeland.

A horrific typhoon slammed into the island Friday, killing as many as 10,000 people. Pinson’s family was spared, but the situation is dire.

“Sixty to 80 percent of my village is destroyed,” she said, fighting back tears. “My mother and father went to stay with my grandmother, who has a safer house. My brother is with them, too. They’re OK, but their house is gone,” as are about 300 others in her village of about 1,000 residents.

She said she worries “very much for my father, who has heart problems and needs medicine,” she said. “And not just him – everybody needs their medicine, food, water.”

Pinson and her husband, Larry, along with the martial arts school they have in Saltillo, are accepting donations to help buy food, medicine and other necessities in the Philippines. Call the Pinsons at (662) 871-2930 or (662) 871-5425 for more information.